Review: All About Drugs and Young People

Drugs education that pulls no punches

Julian Cohen distils the knowledge and experience of a long career in drug education in his latest publication. Glib explanations, innovative approaches and simple solutions are not on offer here: rather the reader is taken through a process inviting thought, reflection, and sense making: what would amount to, if using the exercises provided, a drug education course in a book.

Dispelling many common myths, this accessible guide invites readers to understand drug use in the round, in the context of the lived experience of young people and their families. The author, a tobacconist's son, shares some of his own family drug history - set within the historical and cultural contexts of the times - and in doing so, offers a disarming challenge to readers who may not have previously thought of drug use as being a consistent and generally unremarkable facet of human existence. One response to a "drug incident" advocated here includes open discussion and negotiation around the substance use of all members of the family. While offering a measured and grounded approach, Cohen pulls no punches.